Outplacement firm Challenger, Gary and Christmas announced the highest rate of planned layoffs in almost five years today, with the automobile and financial sectors leading the way. 112, 884 job cuts were announced in October, a 19% percent increase from September. The economy blamed the increased cuts on general economic trouble, stemming the housing and banking industries. John Challenger, CEO said, ?The fact that nearly three out of four industry categories are cutting more jobs is proof of how widely the impact of this downturn has spread.? The unemployment rate has risen to 6.3% and officials expect it to hit 8% before the job market begins to recover. Challenger reports that even if the economy begins to improve, it will probably be months before the job market can rebound.
See "Planned layoffs jump to near five year high", Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, The Boston Globe, November 4, 2008